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Now, the cement has flaked off, and the work of the first chisel is exposed to view. The sculptors of ancient Egypt were not so well equipped as those of our own day. A kneeling scribe in limestone at the Gizeh Museum has been carved with the chisel, the grooves left by the tool being visible on his skin.
A Pharaoh's head in dead blue wears a klaft with dark-blue stripes. Fine as these pieces are, the chef-d'oeuvre of the series is a statuette of one Ptahmes, first Prophet of Amen, now in the Gizeh Museum. The hieroglyphic inscriptions as well as the details of the mummy bandages are chased in relief upon a white ground of admirable smoothness afterwards filled in with enamel.
The pyramids of Gizeh are situated about ten miles from Cairo, and after crossing the Nile by a remarkable iron bridge, guarded at either end by two bronze lions, are reached by a straight level road lined with well-trimmed trees.
Between the hemi-speos and the isolated temple, the Egyptians created yet another variety, namely, the built temple backed by, but not carried into, the cliff. The temple of the sphinx at Gizeh, and the temple of Seti I. at Abydos, may be cited as two good examples. It was sunk up to the roof, the tops of the walls but just showing above the level of the ground.
We were in line at Alexandria, at Gizeh, and before the Pyramids; we marched in the sun and through the sand, where some, who had the dazzles, saw water that they couldn't drink, and shade where their flesh was roasted.
The piper piped a shriller psalm, The dancers thro' their mystery moved, Untouched, untouching, and the twirl That set our giddy heads awhirl, Served but to give their faces calm. We drove from Cairo to the Pyramids of Gizeh, a distance of ten miles, over a substantial macadamized avenue.
At length, however, they could do no more, and Mourad, with 2000 men, rode off towards Gizeh, while the rest, not noticing the way that he had taken, owing to the cloud of dust and smoke, rode back to the entrenchment. The French now pressed forward with all speed, and a division was thrown across the plain, so as to prevent the horsemen from retreating by the line that Mourad had taken.
The muscles of the arm, of the bust, and of the shoulder are caught in half repose, and are ready to return at once to work. This careful observance of the professional attitude, or the characteristic gesture, is equally marked in the Gizeh Cross-legged Scribe, and in all the Ancient Empire statues which I have had an opportunity of studying.
Cairo and the Arabian Nights. Street Scenes and Cries. Camels and Donkeys. Turkish Bazars in Old Cairo. Water Carriers. The Pyramids of Gizeh. The Sphinx. Interesting Visit to a Native House. Mosque of Mehemet Ali. The Rotten Row of Cairo. The Khedive's Palace. Egyptian Museum. Mosque of Amer. Whirling and Howling Dervishes. Suez Canal. Ismailia and Port Said. Island of Malta. City of Valetta.
Ûsertesen III., whose head and feet are in the Louvre, was appropriated by Amenhotep III., as the sphinx of the Louvre and the colossi of Gizeh were appropriated by Rameses II. Many museums possess specimens of supposed Ramesside Pharaohs which, upon more careful inspection, we are compelled to ascribe to the Thirteenth or Fourteenth Dynasty.
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